Foreword: The following takes place in an AU, I am not writing a musical, nor will I be taking a close following of the lore from Frozen I or II, similar themes to Frozen I will however be present. As from what I remember, the sisters' parents are not named, I will be making assumptions. Any original characters present have their names fictionalized, if they resemble any real world names or persons, this is coincidence.
Chapter I: Frozen.
A transcript from the Arcana Elementa.
"Since the arrival of the dark one, the northern gods empowered four beings, each with control over an element. These elements, powerful magic, could harm the dark one, but the dark one could not be slain by them, only sealed. Legend tells of an ancient blade, predating the northern gods of Arendelle, that could bring a final end to the dark one, but it's whereabouts have been lost to time..."
He paced down the hall, winter coat on despite it being summer. He would remove it once he left the castle.
King Wilhelm Penbrooke of Arendelle. His daughter had shown strange powers lately, the ability to command Ice and Snow. She is but a child and uses it without restraint, this has caused the temperature of the castle to decrease, hence his winter attire.
Anna, his younger daughter, is unconscious, an accidental impact from the magic. However, while the nobles and wisemen of Arendelle know only myth when it comes to magic, a tribe of trolls that have lived in Arendelle since ancient history have command of magic in a way Arendelle either never had or does not remember.
Queen Irene Penbrooke, his wife, exited the room with a relieved expression. Soon after, the Troll Chieftan, Grand Paddie, exits, saying "I have undone the spell, but as Elsa grows, her powers will as well.
As he spoke, he cast a simple illusion spell to illustrate his words.
Wilhem then said, "What can be done to prevent this from happening again?". Grand Paddie replied as the forms became reminiscent of Elsa and Anna, saying "Fear will be her enemy. She must learn to control her powers. She is the Elementa of Ice, it is the only explanation. Her powers cannot be sealed away, even by Troll Magic, nor would I if I could, without her powers, evil would fall over the land. But if she succumbs to fear, she may become an even worse evil." The Elsa figure in the illusions command ice, forming great structures as the Anna figure watches, but then monsters form as he explains the weakness of fear, and a row of people form in the illusion, chains of ice are conjured by the Elsa figure and fly from her hands to the people, they bow as the chains enslave them.
Queen Irene spoke next, saying "We will not raise her to be a tyrant. We are not like those who rule over Wellington."
Grand Paddie nodded and said, "I would hope not, even if she does not become a tyrant however, this power will consume her if she is unprepared, if she cannot control it, she will bring harm to those around her, intentionally or not." The figures change, Elsa is creating the city of ice as the people cheer, but the structures transform into monsters, attacking the people and even Anna, and eventually turning on their creator, Elsa.
The Illusion dissipates into a fading miasma of light. King Wilhelm ponders what he has heard and seen, then he says "What of Anna? I fear she may react poorly to this, she deeply loves her sister, if that has been shaken..."
Grand Paddie simply replied "That will not happen. My power allows me to sense emotions, even when unconscious, she has already forgiven Elsa, however it was best to have her forget the incident, so I've erased her memory of it. Legend tells of the four Elementa, does the Royal Family remember the legends?"
King Wilhelm nodded and said "Yes, the four Elementa saved Arendelle in the past before the power went to their heads and they became tyrants, forming four warring factions that persisted long after they died. It was only in the last thirty years that Arendelle reunited. Am I correct?"
Grand Paddie replied "Partly, it is true that they became tyrants, but their powers did not fade with death. When an elementa dies, natural causes or not, their power returns to the Northern Gods, who then choose a successor. For whatever reason, Odin has chosen Elsa to wield the power of ice. It is thus her destiny to face a great evil, she will not be alone however, the other three Elementa, Fire, Wind and Lightning will stand by her side, for their own reasons yes, but they are necessary to drive back the armies of the dark one. Arendelle is a powerful nation, but this power pales in comparison to the abominations of evil the Dark One commands."
Irene then said "Can we trust these other Elementa? If they are necessary to save Arendelle from the coming evil, that is fine, but what of their intentions after this? As the legends go, they became tyrants and fought eachother, Elsa would never fall into evil, but I cannot be sure of strangers."
Grand Paddie nodded and said "I only know the prophecy. It foretells they will defeat the great evil again, and an ancient warrior will assist them. What happens after this great battle however, is not revealed. It may be prudent to take precautions, but they should not be undertaken before the dark one is fought off. The mists that seal off Arendelle from the rest of the world part once every 100 years, but they are weakening, only all four Elementa combined can restore them. If just one of the elementa falls, even if the others fight off the Dark One, the next time he returns will be much sooner."
Wilhelm looked at Irene, though they said no words, they knew what had to be done. Elsa would need to be sheltered, instructed only by the finest and most trusted of the court.
Grand Paddie proceeded to slowly walk towards the main hall, saying "I will return to the village, should you seek our help again, we will give it gladly. The mists protect us as much as they protect you."
And so, time would pass, the doors of Castle Arendelle would close, allowing only carefully vetted interests within it. While this meant the King and Queen needed to travel often to administrate the realm, it also protected Elsa from outside interests, no word of this was breathed outside of the Castle, as far as the rest of the kingdom was concerned, the royals were tipped off about a possible plot on the young heiress' life. While this kept them ignorant of her status as Elementa, it also began to alienate the vassals who no longer could attend court in the capital, Wellington in particular, felt this was a signal of the old rivalries coming back into play. The Penbrookes and Wellingtons were always long-standing rivals, the ancient Ice Elementa and ancient wind Elementa were the ones who formed their houses respectively, even though the kingdom has been reunited for 30 years now, old wounds never truly heal, they just form scars...
Time marched on, Elsa, not only sequestered from the kingdom at large but also personally isolating herself from Anna, while Anna had forgotten the incident, she did not, and she feared the possibility of harming her again.
Anna did not know and did not understand.
One day, when Elsa was 16 and Anna 13, Anna again tried to no avail to spend time with her sister, sitting down with her back to Elsa's door with a pout, saying "I only ever see you when you're studying. You never come out of that room otherwise. What changed Elsa? I'm your sister, you know you can tell me anything..."
Elsa replied "I'm sorry, I just can't right now. You know why..." Anna sighed, making a blah blah blah gesture with her hand, though the door was closed and Elsa could not see it, Anna eventually realized this as she said "Yeah, yeah, you're always so scared of using your powers now. It wasn't always like this you know. We used to have, y'know, fun. Can't we make snowmen like when we were kids? Or just make ice sculptures, I'm sure nobody will complain, they were always so beautiful."
Elsa couldn't tell her the real reason, it wasn't that her parents were told it was best Anna didn't remember, she didn't even factor that into her reasoning. She had hurt her sister, accidentally sure, but still, she didn't want Anna to have that in her memories, but her fear of her powers was drowning out her reason, Elsa could not see that by keeping Anna at a distance, she was hurting her a different way, a worse way.
Anna and Elsa stared each at their respective backgrounds, Anna at the hallway, Elsa at her ash room, her fear and self-anguish having spiraled her powers more and more out of control, she struggles to control what was once easy for her to wield. How she wielded her power so fluidly in the past, she had forgotten how, or perhaps, she refused to wield it, but it could not be stopped. Oh how Elsa wished her powers would just go away, they caused her sister harm, but the more she tried to suppress them, the worse they acted up.
She scrunched herself up further into a ball, afraid of herself, of what she might become, should she not learn how to keep her power from coming out.
And so time would pass again, with her parents' help, she would gain some degree of control, reminding her that she will one day become Queen. However there were some in the court that became concerned, with no interaction outside of the court, there were no eligible suitors Elsa could interact with, and with all their focus on her powers, no measures were being made to find a suitor, the succession was secure with Elsa in the line, but what of the future? Her parents were not blind to this, however Elsa still had years to go, by Arendelle law, she could not inherit until she became of drinking age. Naturally, should anything happen to the King and Queen before she came of age, a Regent was on standby, her Aunt Sonya on her Father's side. Sonya was trusted as she had no aspirations to rule, content with the Barony of Talo, a small Castle town within the Penbrooke demesne, Sonya was always on good terms with the two sisters and cared deeply for them. She was also trusted enough to be in the know of Elsa's powers.
When the sisters were 19 and 16, The overseas Duchy of Calan needed attending, due to the sequestering within the Castle, the King and Queen both were often leaving the Penbrooke demesne to govern the realm, and tragedy would strike.
A strange, unexpected storm when calm seas were throughout the week, a sudden torrent of wind rose up, creating a water sprout that tore the ship in half, before calming minutes after.
Suspicious indeed.
Anna came to Elsa's door, once more it was closed. This time however, she understood why it was closed. What she didn't understand is why Elsa was grieving alone...
Anna spoke, saying "Elsa, I know you're hurting, I lost them too."
There was only silence, but she could hear Elsa breathing on the other side of the door, the cold radiating from it suggested her powers had been used recently.
Anna resumed speaking, saying "Please Elsa, say something, you can't keep it bottled in forever. I cried, I screamed. I can only imagine what you did upon learning. But please, say something, anything to let me know you aren't drowning in the grief."
Elsa spoke, to alleviate her sister's worries, looking briefly at the flash frozen and disorderly room she had recently unleashed her frustration upon for the loss of her parents. She said "I'm sorry. I haven't been the best sister lately, have I?"
Anna shook her head, a futile gesture as Elsa couldn't see her, but it didn't matter to Anna, she then replied "No, you're my sister. It's not possible for you to be any less than the best. We'll get through this together. In a few years, you'll have to become Queen, but you'll still always have me as your sister. Anything you need Elsa, anything, you tell me."
Tears rolled down Elsa's cheek as she said "Thank you."
And so, despite the tragedy, time marched on, Elsa swallowed her doubts and fears, she had to, she was now to be Queen once the Regency ended. Sonya would continue her tutoring and Elsa would practice for the ceremony to accept the crown and scepter, finally after so long, they did not freeze to her touch.
A transcript from the Arendelle Atlas.
"Arendelle, an ancient realm, while only united as a singular kingdom for 30 years, is divided between four duchies, each with their subsequent baronies. Penbrooke, Ixan, Calan and Wellington. Together, these comprised Arendelle, each of the duchies were once small kingdoms. The Elementa of Ice formed Penbrooke, the Elementa of Fire formed Ixan, the Elementa of Lightning formed Calan and the Elementa of Wind formed Wellington. Though many centuries have passed since the Elementa passed away, the rivalries they started and the legends surrounding them continued into the realms the crafted. 30 Years ago, King Runeard of Arendelle formed the Kingdom of Arendelle through a series of political marriages that ended the conflicts that persisted for two centuries. The mists that seal off Arendelle from the rest of the world have kept the evil at bay, but two centuries is a long time, and outside of religious holy orders, many question if there really an ancient evil waiting to pounce, or if it's just a lie the Elemental Church used to control the masses prior to the Enlightenment. Arendelle as a whole is a large country, spanning hundreds of kilometers from one end to the next and separated down the middle by the North Sea. Along the edges of the circle that comprises Arendelle are vast mists which no man returns from, though Trolls and Animals can freely pass through if they have no evil in their beings. Once every 100 years however, the mists part briefly for a year, during which Arendelle trades with other neighboring kingdoms as much as possible, though sometimes merchants have been stranded for the remainder of their natural lives on one side or the other. According to Legend, the Elementa created the mists and have command over it, while the Trolls keep watch over the magic to tell when they will next part."
Barony of Ionis, Duchy of Ixan
As news of the passing of the King and Queen to a storm a sea reached the kingdoms, Baron Alfred Tarsis of Ionis had always been rumored to be a greedy and scheming noble, his lineage being the only reason he rules in Ionis, that and his tendency to keep the Royal Family from focusing too much on his activities, that being said, it is not entirely his own actions that kept them from putting him in his place, their sequestering following the incident with Princess Elsa had kept them from noticing the growing divide between the royals and the people and now with a Regency in place, the peasantry decided now was the perfect time to stage an uprising to demand a reduction in the harsh and unfair taxes.
The Baron's response? Marching the retinues out to burn down the town where the ringleaders were said to be gathering. His spies tipped him off.
The Baron rode his horse alongside his retinues, knights of the court of Ionis. Their supposed chivalry a facade for the decadent lifestyles they expect to uphold at the cost of the peasantry. Now that the regency is in place, they expect to gain much leeway, even more still, the Baron is rumored to have aspirations of manipulating the young Queen when she takes the throne.
His well trained and well-equipped army of fifteen hundred stopped just a few hundred meters of the village outskirts atop a hill, it was night, they lit torches in the rear and galloped forward, letting out a war cry to wake the sleeping peasant armies to the terror of battle.
If you could call it a battle, they raced out their tents only to be cut down by swords, spears, those who didn't get up in time awoke to flames, their encampments lit ablaze, the killing was one-sided and when the remains were routed back into the village, the knights followed, setting aflame houses, farms, barns. Unarmed peasants were killed as they fled in terror or barricaded in their own homes as they were set ablaze.
In the morning, the Baron and his men were carrying the spoils of the slaughter back to the castle when a single man stood in their way, staring at the smoke behind them from the still burning village.
The Baron riding up front halted the regiment, amused and saying "Count yourself lucky fool. The rabble are dealt with and I'm in a good mood. So, mosey on off to the side and make way for us, then go about your puny, uneventful life."
He laughed and then his men laughed.
The shock in the young man's face turned to anger, to hate. The Baron made a mocking tone of voice and said "Oh, I do believe he wants revenge. How pathetic. Tell you what boy-o, I'll let you throw the first punch, I'll even dismount! But you best be prepared for what comes next."
The slightly short statured young man of slim build with black hair, bright orange eyes and tanned skin was shaking in anger, he had no clothes that would conceal weapons, simply wearing a peasant's cloth shirt and leather pants. The Baron dismounted from his horse and approached, turning his cheek towards the young man while also eyeing him up briefly, he could tell he was unarmed.
Still, it was a risk, but he was too high and drunk on power to care, plus he had an army of seasoned knights by his side. He was confident, too confident.
The young man, Ray Fenrir, sighed. Not that the Baron knew his name nor the names of the villagers he just put to the sword. It was one thing in a long list of grievances he's inflicted, no more, he had been restrained for too long.
Ray grimaced, his intent set, he then said to the Baron, or rather asked, "How will they remember you? Who will avenge you?"
The baron gave a puzzling look at the young man, who held out his palm, sparks of orange light gathered around his hand and the Baron was reminded, briefly, of the tales he paid little attention to, just enough to remember of the Elementa of Fire, who founded Ixan long ago.
A second later, a torrent of flame swept through the baron, flash-incinerating him, leaving only ashes, it shot clean through him and also incinerated a third of his men, the horses were overcome by fear and the heat, routing against the commands of their surprised and dumbfounded men.
Immediately reacting, Ray extended his other hand and swept them in a crossing fashion, more flames, two high speed jets that condensed, arced through the cavalry units, cutting like heated blades through butter, decimating them so that none survived.
There would be no witnesses to the crime, none would know who exactly killed the Baron, the grim scene would only be explainable through magic.
He ran forward, to see if anyone survived in the village that he could try and help. Sadly, there were none, they had either fled into the wilderness with barely the clothes on their back or been slaughtered by the Baron's men.
He cursed the monarchy, he cursed the names of the late King and Queen for sequestering away from their administrative duties. If they had perhaps continued things as they were, his village would not have been destroyed.
He screamed, fire shot forward out of his mouth like a Dragon, again there were no witnesses, the late Baron was thorough. After an hour, he collected himself, it would be a long journey on foot, and he'd need to earn money to complete it. But sooner or later, He'd reach Penbrooke. He has set himself to a task now, the Baron was dead, it wouldn't be long before an investigation would commence, it wouldn't be long before one of his decadent sons or daughters took the barony. This lowborn chosen by Odin to wield the power of fire would petition the Queen to intervene in the plight of Ionis, if she refused, she would burn like the rest. He was now set on either justice, or vengeance.
To be continued...
